Portable bottle rack



Feb. 26, 1963 E. H. KOHNKE 3,079,041 PORTABLE-BOTTLE RACK Filed June 13,1961 s Sheets-sheaf 1 Filed June 13, 1961 Feb. 26, 1963 E. H. KOHNKE3,079,041

PORTABLE BOTTLE RACK 3 Sheets-Sheet 2' Feb. 26, 19 3 E. H. KOHNKE3,079,041 PORTABLE BOTTLE RACK Filed June 13, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3United States This invention relates to certain improvements in portablebottle racks of such a type as is made from a cut cardboard sheet,provided with bending lines and especially designed for use only once asa package for such bottles as, when emptied, are not bought back by thesales places, but may be discarded.

One of the principal features and objects of the present invention is toprovide for a bottle rack of said type, which is simple and cheap inmanufacture, but despite that, holds up in use. It is a further featureand object of the present invention to provide for a bottle rack, whichis collapsible, so that before and also after its use, it takes up aminimum of space.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my inventionare set forth with particularity in the appended claim. My inventionitself, however, both as to its organization and manner of construction,together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best beunderstood by references to the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cut cardboard sheet, provided with bending lines, saidsheet being the material for the bottle rack according to the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 is the same cardboard sheet after a first folding;

FIGURE 3 is the same cardboard sheet after a second folding;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of the finished bottle rack; and

FIGURE 5 is the finished bottle rack, seen from the right side of FIGURE4 and having bottles inserted.

As shown on the drawings:

The bottle rack according to the invention is made from a cut cardboardsheet, provided with bending lines and having an appearance as shown inFIGURE 1. The card-board sheet has the shape of a rectangular strip 1,provided in the middle with a longitudinal bending line 2 and furtherprovided with four transversal, parallel bending lines 3, 4, 5 and 6.Thus these bending lines divide up the strip in panels as pairs 7, 8; 9,1t 11, 12; 13, 14; and 15, 16.

in panel 7 there is made an opening 17, while in panel 3 the contour fora corresponding opening is cut through along the short sides and alongthe lower long side. The upper long side of the contour is provided witha bending line, so that a foldable flap 18 is formed.

In each of the panels 9 and there are three oval openings 19, located ina row parallel to the transversal bending lines. In the panels 15 and 16there are openings 24) which in the transversal direction of the strip 1are as long as the openings 17 and the flap 18, but are broader thanthese. The lower long sides of the opening 17 and the flap 18 arelocated as far from the bending line 5 as are the upper long sides ofthe openings 20, while the upper long sides of the opening 17 and theflap 18 are located as far from the upper short side of the strip 1 asthe lower long sides of the openings 20 are from the lower short side ofthe strip 1.

The longitudinal bending line 2 is cut through all the length betweenthe bending lines 3 and 6.

atent O ice In order to make a bottle rack of the material according toFIGURE 1, first the lower half of the strip 1 is along the bending line5 folded down and in against the upper half, so that a double sheetaccording to FIGURE 2 is formed. Thereafter the left half of the doublesheet according to FIGURE 2 is folded down and in against the righthalf, so that a fourfold sheet according to FIGURE 3 is formed. In thisfour-fold sheet the two inner parts consist of the panels 13, 15 and 14,16 respectively and the two outer part-s consist of the panels 7, 9, 11and 8, 10, 12 respectively.

In the position according to FIGURE 3 the inner parts of the fourfoldsheet protrude above the outer parts. By pressing the flap 18 throughthe two openings 21} and the opening 17 a passage for the fingers of thehand is formed. With the hand it is now possible to displace the outerpart of the fourfold sheet upwards, until its upper edges are in linewith the upper edges of the inner parts. In doing this the fourfoldsheet is opened, so that automatically a bottle rack with two casesaccording to FIG- URES 4 and 5 is formed. These cases have no ends, butare otherwise closed.

In the finished rack the panels 15 and 16 form a common inner side wallfor the two cases, the panels 13 and 14 form the bottoms of the cases,the panels 11 and 12 form the outer side walls of the eases, the panels9 and 10 form sloping top parts of the cases and the panels 7 and 8through the handle grip, which is common for all four parts of thefourfold sheet, connect the top parts to the inner side wall. Thuspasting or stapling is not necessary when the bottle rack according tothe invention is made in the above described way. Such a procedure,however, may be necessary when said rack is made in another way.

When the bottle rack is not in use, it may be kept either in theposition according to FIGURE 2 or in the position according to FIGURE 3and then forms a flat unit, which takes up a minimum of space. The rackis brought to operative position in the above described way, thus by thehand displacing the outer parts of the fourfold sheet (FIGURE 3) inrelation to the inner parts. With the hand still grasping the handlegrip bottles 21 are inserted through the openings 19 in the top parts,formed by the panels and 10 and will then rest upon the case bottoms,formed by the panels 13 and 14. The bottles 21 are later-ally guided bythe edges of the openings 19. The rack is in FIGURES 4 and 5 shownstanding on a support. When the rack instead is carried by the handgrasping the handle grip, the outer side walls 11 and 12 will sink inrelation to the inner side Wall 15, 16. The bottles 21 will then take amore inclined position, so that the bottle necks in no Way will be ahindrance to the hand carrying the rack.

The bottle rack as here above described is furnished with two cases sideby side. In a modified form the rack has only one case with an upwardsextended side wall for the handle grip, such a rack taking only one rowof bottles. For this rack a sheet is used, which consists of only theright or left half on both sides of the bending line 2 in the sheetaccording to FIGURE 1. It is of course also possible to design the rackin other ways within the scope of invention as is set forth in theappended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A bottle carrier which takes both a collapsed position and an expandedposition, comprising a central substantially vertical member of doubleply thickness, the plies of said member being hingedly connected along aside edge; a pair of bottom panels outwardly extending from, integralwith, and hinged to said vertical member along its bottom edge; a pairof outer side wall panels up- 3 wardly extending from, integral with,and hinged to said bottom panels; a pair of top panels inwardlyextending from, integral with, and hinged to said outer side wallpanels, said top panels havingbot-tle receiving apertures therein; apair of end anels upwardly extending ;from, integral with, and hinged tosaid top panels, said end panels being in slideable relation with andpositioned outside, adjaeent, and parallel to said vertical member andfurther being l ingedly connected toz each other along a side. edge;said bottom panels, outerside wallpanels, top panels; and end panels asa unit being displaceable in relation to said vertical member forbringing said bottle carrier-from a collapsed flat structure in whichsaid outer side ivall panels; top panels and end panels lie fiat againstsaid laottom pa nels and said vertical member into an expanded hollowcarrier structure for receiving bottles, said end panels and saidvertical member both being provided with handle opening meansiorproducing said displacement, said handle opening means in said endpanels overl-ying the lower portion of'said handle opening means in saidvertical member, in the collapsed position, and overlying the upperportion of said handle opening means in said vetrieal member, in-theexpanded position.

References Cited in thefile o f t his patent UNITED STATES PATENTSLachance Aug. 27, 1957

